Fighting has killed at least 17,000 people in Gaza, according to Hamas figures. Photo: AFP.
On December 10, Hamas said Israel had launched a series of “very violent attacks” targeting the southern largest city of Khan Younis and the road from there to Rafah, near the border with Egypt.
A source close to Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group told AFP that both militant groups were involved in “violent clashes” with Israeli forces near Khan Younis.
Hamas militants also reported fighting in Jabalia and the Shejaiya district of Gaza City in northern Gaza, while the Israeli military said early on December 10 that it had attacked “more than 250 targets” in 24 hours before.
A military statement said the overnight attacks targeted a “Hamas military contact site” and “underground tunnels” in southern Gaza as well as “the military command of Hamas” in Shejaiya.
The fighting has killed at least 17,700 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Speaking at Qatar’s Doha Forum, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he regretted that the Security Council had not come up with a solution to the war. Two days earlier, the US used its veto power to block a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Mr. Guterres said that the Security Council has been “paralyzed by geostrategic divisions” and that “its power and credibility have been seriously undermined” by its slow response to the conflict.
“I reiterate my call for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared… Regrettably, the Security Council has failed to do so,” he told the forum. I can promise, I won’t give up.”
Aid groups have sounded the alarm about the “apocalyptic” humanitarian situation in Gaza, warning it is on the brink of disease and famine.
The United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said 100 trucks carrying aid entered Gaza through Rafah on Saturday, “far below” the pre-war daily average.
In Gaza City, an AFP journalist said thousands of people were taking shelter at Al-Shifa Hospital, which was partially destroyed after an Israeli raid in November.
Hundreds of makeshift tents made from scraps of fabric and plastic fill the hospital’s courtyards and gardens amid crumbling walls.
According to United Nations figures, an estimated 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.4 million people have been displaced.
With fighting increasing in southern Gaza, where Israel previously urged civilians to seek shelter, many people no longer have a safe place to go.
The United Nations Children’s Fund, Unicef, said on December 9 that nearly one million children have been forced to relocate due to conflict.
OCHA reported that Israeli forces on December 9 “arrested dozens of Palestinian men and children” in the northern city of Beit Lahia.
There was no immediate comment from the military. Israeli media reported that Hamas militants surrendered to Israeli forces at several locations across Gaza.
